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Background: Gastrointestinal parasites are important health problems among most societies. Objectives: Prevalence and risk factors associated with gastrointestinal parasites among inmates of Port Harcourt children home. Methods: This prospective study was carried out in August and September 2019 at the Port Harcourt children home. Fecal samples were collected from 63 healthy looking inmates and examined macroscopically and microscopically (using normal saline and iodine wet mount, formalin-ether sedimentation and modified Ziehl Neelsen staining) methods. Finally, data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square (X2) test. Results: Result showed that 74.6% (47/63) of the female and 25.4% (16/63) of the male tested positive for GIPs. Age group 11-15 years had prevalence of 17(44.8%). The common parasites identified were A. lumbricoides 10(15.9%), T. trichiura 7(11.1%) and hookworm (Ancylostoma duodenale) 2(3.2%). The educational level prevalence of 10(52.6%) was observed among the primary level (p0.05. Conclusion: The distribution of gastrointestinal parasitic infections is high among the children. Necessary treatment intervention safety measures should be routinely carried out to reduce the spread to zero tolerance.

Purpose: The current status of malaria prevalence in three senatorial zones of rivers state was evaluated. There have been several intervention measures aimed at reducing the health menace of malaria in Rivers State by Government, international agencies and other stakeholders. This study was undertaken to assess the current status of malaria in the three senatorial zones of Rivers State with the view to maintaining the current intervention measures or otherwise. Methodology: A randomized block experimental design was used for this study. The research was divided into two (2) parts. The first part involved the production and distribution of self-structured questionnaire to the respondents to collect demographic information. The second part was laboratory examination which involved the screening of thick and thin blood films from participants to find the presence of the malaria parasite and calculate the prevalence. A total of 352 participants (110, 120 and 122 from Rivers West, Rivers Southeast and Rivers East senatorial districts respectively) seeking treatment at the zonal hospitals were recruited for the study. Venous blood samples were collected from the 352 participants and screened for the presence of malaria parasite using standard procedure while 352 copies of self-structured questionnaire were distributed to participants to collect data on some demographic characteristics. Findings: Out of the 352 participants examined, 275(78.1%) were positive for the presence of malaria parasites. Of the 275 infected persons, 94.6%, 77.5% and 63.7% were from Rivers West, Rivers East and Rivers Southeast senatorial district respectively. There was no significance difference (P

Investigation of plant-parasitic nematodes of yam in selected yam farms in two Local Government Areas of Rivers State was conducted. A total of 22 yam farms were selected and assessed, 12 from Emohua and 10 from Etche Local Governemnet Areas (LGA). Two tubers of yam ready to be harvested were randomly selected and the soil around it were collected, bagged individually and transported to the laboratory for bioassay. Sieve plate nematode extraction technique was used for extraction of nematodes from the tubers and soil. The purpose of the study was to identify the plant parasitic nematodes that affect yam in the selected zone and likely to predict if nematode was a predisposing agent to yam rot in the study area. The results showed that in Emohua LGA, Meloidogtne spp. with mean population of 90.407±0.543 were the most prevalent species in the soil samples followed by Heterodera spp. with 38.622±0.891 and Pratylenchus spp. with 26.322±0.962 while in the roots and yam tuber Meloidogyne spp. had the most prevalent species with mean population of 69.510±0.907, followed by Scutellonema spp. with 15.651±2.201 and then Ditylenchus spp. with 13.7651±2.644. Also, in Etche LGA, Meloidogyne spp., Tylenchulus spp. and Rotylenchulus spp. had the most prevalent species in the soil with mean populations of 24.920±0.479, 22.426±1.093 and 20.202±0.828 respectively. In the roots and yam tubers, Scutellonema spp., Meloidogyne spp. and Heterodera spp. in that order had the most prevalent species with mean populations of 17.814±0.253, 13.240±0.286 and 10.619±0.401 respectively. Data analysis showed that plant-parasitic nematodes recovered from the soil and roots/yam tuber were statistically significant at P

Introduction: Geohelminths are parasites which perform part of their life cycle in the soil, where eggs are embryonated and then larvae become viable, being in both stages able to infect their hosts, depending on the species and can affect humans. Aim: This study was aimed to determine the prevalence of geohelminths in garden soil in Emohua Local Government Area, Rivers State in Nigeria. Methods: Soil samples from the cultivated area of Rumuakunde and Isiodu district were selected for the study. 164 soil samples were examined for a period of April to May 2019. Geohelminth concentration technique was carried out using zinc sulphate floatation technique and under light microscopy. Data analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics and Chi square (X2) test. Results: The overall prevalence rate of geohelminths found was 20(12.2%) out of 164 soil samples examined from the selected farm lands. Isiodu Farm F had the highest prevalence of 60% (12/20) followed by Rumuakunde Farm B, C and E of prevalence 20% (4/20), 15% (3/20) and 5% (1/20) respectively. This distribution among the farm lands were found to be statistically significant (p